Apparatus for treating hides and the like



Nov. 6 i923. 1,472,999

B. H. TILSTON ET AL APPARATUS FOR TREATING HIDES AND THE LIKE 1918 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filled Oct. 2,

Nov. 6 1923. 1,472,999

- B. H. TILSTON ET AL APPARATUS FOR TREATING HIDES AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 2, 1918 s Sheets-Sheet? B. H. TILSTON ET AL APPARATUS FOR TREATING HIDES AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 2, 1918 3 Sheets-She'et 5 Patented Nov. 6,1923, r p 1,3,

BASIL HEBER" TILSTON, OF L'ATCHFORD WITHOUT, NEAR WARRINGTON, AND

THOMAS MELBOURNE, F WARRIN'GTOl\T, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR TREA'I'lZNG' nrnns AND THE LIKE.

Application filed October 2, 1913. Serial restate 1. I

T 0 all whom it may concern. I of which shows the hides suspended in posi Be it known that we, BASIL Hanan TIL- tion and the other part. the hides removed, s'roN and THOMAS MELBOURNE, subjects of Figure 3isa crosssectional ,view, a the 'King of Great Britain, residing at Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the 5 Latchford WVithout, near Warrington, and apparatus wherein the blades are mounted Stocktonv Heath, W arringto-n, both in the 'on tru'nnions located near the bottom of the county of Lancaster and Kingdom of Engvat so as to rock up'and down, land, respectively, have invented certain new Figure 5 is a plan view thereof, and andfuseiul Improvements in or Relating to ,Figure 6 is a cross sectional view. 10 the Apparatus for Treating Hides and the In Fi ures 1, 2 and 3 the pits are shown like, of which the following is a specificaarranged in p'airs,.there being any suitable numberof pairs, arranged side by side, and

tion. a

This invention has reference to apparathe mechanical stirrers of a pair of pits are tus for treating hides, skins and other goods, operated by a single eccentric which is 15 of the type wherein the goods are suspenddrivenby a first motion shaft which passes ed in a pit or vat conta ining liquor, such overhead above aplurality of pairs of pits, iquor being kept constantly agitated not only there being an eccentric for each two pits. for the purpose of preventing the essential Referring first to these Figures 1, 2 and 3, parts of the liquor settling to the bottom, 1 indicates a pair of pits or vats which are 30 but also to cause an agitation or movement similar to those in common use in tanneries of the goods to be set up while so suspended except that the bottom 2 is made concave in the solution. like an inverted arch while the sides and Now the present invention is characterized ends 3 oi the pit are vertical. This concave by this, that the liquor is agitated in the bottom is important as will hereinafter ap- 25 pit or vat so as to set up a current between pear. Theliquor in each pit is agitated by the goods in an upward direction and to exmechanically operated stirrers. These stirert a pressure between the folds, also to imrers each comprise a pair of swinging arms part to the goods a gentle mot-ion, by means t located at the sides of the pits so as. to of a stirrer device located under the goods leave space fora number of hides 5 to be 30 so as to operate in the space between the sus-' suspended between them, and carrying at pended goods and the bottom of the vat. the lower ends a paddle or blade 6 and sup- This upward current is assisted according to pleme'ntary paddles 7 all of which extend the present invention by making the pit or across thewidth of the pit under the hides vat with a bottom made concave or in the '5 and connect the two arms 4 together. The

35 form of an inverted arch. V paddle 6' which is so set that its faces are We will describe the invention more espes vertical when the armsare hanging vertical cially in connection with the unhairing of are spaced away from the concave bottom hides or skins by the action of a liquor conabout 1%,; inches or thereabouts, so that it taining limewhich dissolves the hair sheath will sweep over' the curved bottom. 2 when 40 so as to enable the hair to be removed when the arms are rocked, while the supplemen taken out of the lime pit, but it must be untary paddles 7 which are located rather furderstood that the invention is also applicather away from the pit bottom, are set in an ble for bleaching or otherwise treating hides inclined position like a span roof but spaced and other goods that are suspended in liquor apart at their adjacent edges so that they 45 contained in a pit or vat. lie one at each side of the plane of the verti- The invention will be understood from the cal paddle 6. The supplementary paddles 7 following description reference being had to are supported by cross pieces 8 bolted to the the accompanying drawings in which 4;. .l If des red these supplementary Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the ap: blades may be arranged to hit the lower de- 50 paratus wherein the blades are suspended pending edges of the hldes as the blades from trunnions located near the top of the sweep over the curved bottom of the pit. 1 vat so as to sweep over the concave bottom QEachpair of swinging arms is provided from end to end of the vat. ,1 p Y with trunni ons 9 journalled in bearings 10 Figure 2 is a plan view thereof, one part neai'the top of'the pit and at mid length thereof also parallel to the axis of the inverted arch 2; the upper ends of the arms extending above the trunnions to a point-a short distance below the top of the pit. The stirrers are rocked by means of an oscillating shaft 11 journalled in bearings boltedto the dividing wall of the pits, the said shaft.

of each pit near the top that is parallel to the axis on which the stirrers rock, suspender rails 17 are fixed, to which rails are secured a plurality of pins or hooks 18. The hide or skins to be treated are first straightened out and folded along the back from the head to the tail and suspended on rope or slings 19 which are connected at the opposite ends to the hooks or pins on the suspender rails so as to take up a position with the belly downwards, and at right angles to the axis 9 upon which the e dies rock. so that the circulation of the set up by the stirrers shall be longiiulinal of and between the hides. The trunnions project from one side only of the swinging arms so that a clear space is left between the arms for the hides or skins to be suspended, and the connecting rods being at the sides of the pit do not obstruct the hides in any way.

The pits 1 are filled in the usual manner with water, and the requisite quantity of lime is put in unslaked, or the lime may be previously prepared in a lime hole and then deposited in the pit 1, all stones being first removed. The hides 5 are then placed in a suspended position in the pit so as to be at right angles to the axi on which the paddles swing, the eccentric 12 is put into gear, the rocking of the paddles commences, and the heavier matter in the liquor which gravitates towards the lowest part of the concave bottom 2 is dispersed by the action of the stirrers impinging against it and forcing it outwards towards the ends 3 of the pits, and from thence back again so that a thorough agitation is set up, and the liquor becomes uniformly and heavily charged with the lime. The vertically set blades 6 ensure a circulation of the liquor.

longitudinally of and between the hides 5 alternately in opposite directionsv while the oblique blades 7 force the heavier matter in the liquor towards the surface. The current set up also causes a rise and fall of the liquor at each stroke and exerts a pressure inside the folds of and between the hides 5 in addition to the longitudinal movement, which gives a gentle but, most useful motion to the hides themselves. The constant agitation of the liquor tends to createa uniform strength of liquor throughout the entire pits, and ensures the penetration of the liquor to all portions of the hair and pelt so that hair sheath is dissolved in much less time than under the usual methods, and the hides are plumped quicker. When the-process has been completed, the hides are taken out of the pits, and drained, or they can be drained by opening the plug hole 21 which communicates with a drain pipe or trunk 22 by which the liquor in the pitscan be discharged. The hides when taken out of the. pits have the hair removed by an unhairing knife or unhairing machine. The ground level is indicated at 20. Instead of the cords or slings 19. beams or battens might be used over which the folded hides are laid. The impinging of the oblique blades against the hides, as the blades sweep over the curved bottom of the pit, is also responsible for a gentle motion being given to the hides themselves.

Referring now to Figures 4, 5 and (3, 1 before is the pit or vat having a concave bottom 2 like an inverted arch, and 24: are paddles or blades provided with trunnions 25 journalled in bearings 26 at the centre of the concave, bottom and in proximity thereto, so that they Will rock up and down, the axis of these trunnions 25 being by preference at right angles to the axis of the inverted. arch 2. These blades have a number of apertures 27 in them each controlled by one way valves 28, these valves being preferably flap valves arranged in rows, the valves in each alternate row opening and shutting upon one hinged side 29 and the valves in the intermediate rows opening and shutting upon the opposite hinged side. The blades 24:a-re rocked up and down on their trunnions 25 by an eccentric 30 and eccentric rod' 31 on the first motion shaft 32,. the eccentric rod being coupled to one of the blades, so that when the hides 5 are placed in the vat and the vat filled with liquor, the valves in the blades at opposite sides of the trunnions will open and close alternately, those at one side opening when their blade descends so as to allow the liquor to pass through them, and closing when the blade rises so as to lift the liquor and cause an upward current thereof, and the same action. is caused by the other blade. This upward current is assisted by the inverted arched bottom 2. Thus the rocking of a blade downwards, causes the valves to open upwards and allows the liquor and lime to pass through, while the valves in the other blade are closed and disperse the lime upwards between the hides towards the surface. Moreover the hinging of the valves 28 to open and shut on opposite hinged sides 29 produces a number of cross currents in the liquor and provides an even distribution of the liquor over the hides suspended in the vat. Consequently the liquor becomes uniformly and heavily charged with the lime and a thorough circulation of the liquor is ensured, together with a rise and fall of the liquor at each stroke. The trunnion bearings 26- are shown embedded in the concave bottom 2 of the vat.

The two apparatus described above are also applicable for bleaching or otherwise treating hides, cotton fabrics and other goods that are suspended in liquor within a pit or vat as will be obvious without further description.

One great advantage resulting from the use of this invention, is the expediting of the process of dissolving the hair sheath to enable the hair to be removed, this being a very important consideration, because the shorter the time the hides remain in the liquor, the less will be the amount of hide substance which is dissolved by the chemical combinations that take place in the pit, and consequently a larger return of leather is obtained. A further advantage is that the lime is so thoroughly and uniformly distributed throughout the liquor, that a loosening of the hair and a softening of the epidermis is obtained by the use of a smaller quantity of lime than hitherto.

The usual method of treating hides hitherto used prior to this invention necessitates the handling of hides 5 or 6 times, while the present invention enables the tanner to prepare his hides for unhairing without any labour whatever after they are placed in the pit.

We declare that what we claim is 1 An apparatus for treating hides and the like, comprising in combination, a vat for liquor having a concave bottom, means to suspend the hides thereon in spaced relation, and an agitator having a substantially vertically disposedblade and a blade inclined to the horizontal, means for. sweeping said blades in alternate reverse directions across the bottom of the vat so as to cause the vertical blade to force a circulation of liquor longitudinally of and between said hides alternately in opposite directions and to force the heavier particles in said liquor upward toward the surface of said liquor.

2. In an apparatus for treating hides or other goods in which the goods are held suspended in a pit or vat, a stirrer device therefor comprising arms mounted for swinging movement in said vat, a paddle carried by said arms, said paddle including iaces arranged to be in substantially vertical planes when said swinging arms are perpendicular, supplementary. paddles carried by said arms and set in an inclined position like aspan roof, but spaced apart at their adjacent edges so as to lie above andone at each side of the plane of the vertical paddle.

In witness whereof we have hereunto signed our names this 23rd day of August, 1918, in the witnesses.

BASIL HEBER TILSTON. THOMAS MELBOURNE. Witnesses:

WILLIAM PARSONS, FRED SI-EELLEY.

presence of two subscribing 

